By Ron Lane
IT WAS the type of Christmas break that both lifeguards and lifesavers like to report.
No fatalities on our beaches – big crowds moderate surf and great weather.
With beaches packed it also resulted in good business for both the Noosa and Sunshine Beach Supporter Clubs.
Both supporter club managers, Anton Mogg of Noosa and Tim Johnson of Sunshine Beach, have expressed their thanks to all our visitors for their support of their respective clubs.
“This is great,” said Anton, “all funds go to providing state of the art equipment that is essential to maintain our high standard of beach safety. If we lose the reputation of being safe family beaches, crowds drop off and the whole town suffers.’’
Regarding that ever-present problem of membership, on Boxing Day on Main Beach, the Noosa club, in conjunction with F45 Fitness Centre, conducted a beach fitness circuit for lifesavers and F45 members.
Attended by some 50 members, it was a great success.
“The idea was to encourage new members into surf club life by letting them see the fitness benefits that go with being a lifesaver,” Noosa spokesman Donald McKill said.
“We cannot emphasise enough the need for new members and to publically demonstrate training techniques, is a great way to get them thinking of a career in lifesaving – a big thank you to F45 for being a major part of this promotion.”
With voluntary roving patrols and 24-hour callout teams now becoming a vital part of surf club life at Noosa, maintaining a high membership is of the utmost importance.
On two occasions during the Christmas break our ERG, (Emergency Response Group that respond to callouts outside patrol hours) were needed when people boating, found themselves in trouble in and around the river mouth.
Again a tragedy was avoided because of the incredibly fast Response Time of the IRB teams.
Proud to say that this factor has not gone unnoticed by the local police and the team has been commended.
However we again stress that this will not always be the case, as a time will come when the ERG team will already be on another rescue mission; and this is when a tragedy will occur.
So rule number one: Don’t take these teams for granted and, two: When boating check and double check gear, equipment and talk to the Coast Guard.
Always remember ‘When in Doubt – Don’t go Out’.
In surf club competition, Noosa had good news prior to Christmas when it was announced that Lana Rogers and Cooper Williams were selected for the Queensland Team.
This team – known as the Cyclones – is just reward for hard work.
Then to top it off, Noosa’s head coach Darren Mercer was named as the Queensland Coach.
This news was well received as this gentleman is without a doubt one of the most respected coaches in the club’s history.
Last weekend the fifth round of the Summer of Surf Ironman Competition was held at North Wollongong and for the Noosa club it was definitely a day to remember.
In the final overall placings in the Ironwoman Event, Noosa rising star Lana Rogers finished in third place, an outstanding performance.
Interesting to note that in the three top placings only two points separated the place-getters.
In the Under 17 division, Riley Dixon finished first in the Ironwoman, second in the Board Race and third in the Board Relay.
In the men’s division, Cooper Williams finished first in the Ironman and second in the Board Relay. But most amazing of all, this Under 17 young man finished in the top ten in the men’s Open Division.
Well done to all.
